Next, you’ll go through the workout, performing the following bodyweight exercises back-to-back, doing as many repetitions with good form as you can of each for 30 seconds per movement.

1. Squats with Calf Raises

Start with your arms out in front to counterbalance your weight or with your fingers resting on the sides of your head.

Now with your back straight, bend your knees and drop your hips back to lower yourself into a sitting position, keeping your chest upright. At the bottom of the movement, your thighs should be parallel to the ground (or as low as you can comfortably go while keeping your back flat).

[Note: This is the bottom position of the squat.]

Return to the starting position and, at the top, come up onto your toes like you’re about to jump. Lower back onto your heels and then repeat the squatting movement.

Advanced? Try Ramping It Up

Instead of the classic squat, you could perform a jump squat, by exploding upward to jump off the ground, straightening legs as you reach the top ov the movement.

The same thing goes for the reverse lunges. You could perform jump lunges instead, and as you are at the top part of the jump, switch which leg is in the front position each time.

Adding these fast, dynamic movements — called plyometrics — will help to make the exercises more demanding in terms of both endurance and power.

To propel you upwards, your muscles will contract faster and will require more power.

The landing is also a key part of plyometrics — you want to make sure your muscles absorb the weight of the landing, not your joints, so land as softly as possible without locking your joints.

And it is worth noting that plyometrics do cause higher impact forces, so they place more demand on the joints. That’s something to keep in mind if you’re dealing with injuries or other joint conditions.

But if you can safely do them, plyometrics are an excellent way to boost conditioning as well as improve performance in many sports.

To add an extra challenge to your push-ups, increase the height of your feet by placing them on a bench or chair. The higher they are, the bigger percentage of your bodyweight your arms will have to move.

[Woman performing a more advanced push-up variation]

As a side note, you can also make a push-ups less demanding by increasing the height of your torso. So, instead of placing your feet on the bench, instead, you could put your hands against the bench and do the pushup against it. That’s a great way to begin to master full-body (from the toes) push-ups.

I hope this circuit makes the idea of exercise a little less daunting and a little more doable. Because it’s true: you don’t need any equipment or a lot of time to get a great workout in.

Bodyweight exercises can be both effective and efficient. Give this circuit a try and let me know how you make out with it.

What Next?

Did you enjoy this Bodyweight Workout Routine for Beginners? You might also like my free 20-minute Bodyweight 8 Circuit Workout.

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